Gallipoli Correspondent: The Front Line Diary of C.E.W. Bean

by C.E.W. Bean, Kevin Fewster

'Bean's Gallipoli' reveals the innermost thoughts, hopes and criticisms of a man who helped shape the Anzac legend through his diaries and photographs. This new edition contains additional extracts from Bean's diaries, new commentary by Kevin Fewster, and over 80 images taken at Gallipoli.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War I, War

217 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...

Official historian of Australia's involvement in World War I.

C.E.W. Bean (Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean)wrote the first 6 volumes of the Official History.

The official history has been digitised and is available:
http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first...

Reviews

[AngelaC · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interestingly straightforward account of the Gallipoli campaign by the first "embedded" war correspondent. The book consists mainly of extracts from Bean's diaries but I would have found it helpful to have a few more maps showing the position of the various trenches he visited.
He says at the beginning that it is not his place to criticise military strategy and, in most cases, he succeeds, despite witnessing the most terrible, and utterly useless, loss of life. His writing is excellent and one can only be amazed at his ability to produce the work in such perilous and terrifying conditions.
I would recommend the book to anybody interested in military history in general or the Dardanelles Campaign in particular but this is a merely factual book, with none of the background details or general information found in many non-fiction works.

[Bill Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

That dilemma on what criteria to base a rating? Writing style? Plot construction? Engaging characters? Bean was very much a product of his time, and that is reflected in his negative views on other races, and nationalities. Including the English. And writing in a dugout 20 yards from the Turkish trenches doesn't bode well for polished prose. And the plot was thrown together in random fashion by the British, Australian, Turkish and German top brass. Ultimately, for sheer intestinal fortitude in reporting on a doomed campaign from the front line, five stars.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for uni assignment.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow at times, but a minute and painstakingly accurate account of the Gallipoli campaign from the only journalist who spent the entire campaign with the troops.